Vichy lowered her head, refusing to meet his gaze. "You're slandering me."
"You said the Sword Princess wouldn't refuse. So what about you? Would you refuse me?"
"It's not like I can resist anyway."
"No, I'm asking about your own wishes. Give me a straight answer."
"Try it and find out."
"I want to hear you say it with your own mouth." With a thought from Yaxiu, a translucent collar of ruby chains materialized around Vichy's neck. "If you still won't answer, I'll order you to speak your true feelings."
Vichy's lips trembled. She lifted her eyes to look at him, appearing as pitiful as a lost fawn. Except for her stubborn mouth, her entire body was already soft and limp, silently pleading for mercy.
Yaxiu even wondered if he had been corrupted by her wicked habits. He had never possessed this kind of temperament, but looking at Vichy like this, he couldn't help wanting to bully her, teasing her pride now and then, refusing to be satisfied until she assumed an attitude of submission.
"Let go of me," Vichy said suddenly. "I have to leave."
"Fine, but you can only leave once you've answered."
"...Just let me go, please." The maid took the initiative to peck him on the lips, then tilted her head up to gaze at him. "Pretty please?"
Yaxiu hadn't anticipated such an unexpected delight. Contented, he released her. Vichy fastened her maid corset, tidied her appearance, and as she left the bed, realized Yaxiu was still holding her hand. Biting her lower lip gently, she leaned down and shared a deep, lingering kiss with him.
Right at that moment.
A cautious voice drifted from outside the tent: "Yaxiu, you're not asleep yet, are you?"
"I heard strange noises in there. Did something go wrong with the curse?"
It was Felix!
Yaxiu immediately replied, "No!"
"Oh," the voice outside responded, then continued, "Since you're awake, I happen to have something I want to talk to you about."
"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" Yaxiu asked in all sincerity.
"No, because I suspect you're putting on a brave face. I'm just dropping by for a chat, but mostly I want to check on your condition... Over the last few hours, I've kept feeling movement from your side."
Both Yaxiu and the girls blushed—*Are you serious? Were we really making that much noise!?*
"If you insist on refusing, then I'll notify the Sword Princess and the others—"
"Wait a second." Yaxiu threw in the towel. If the Sword Princess and the others were discovered missing from their tents, how was that any different from being caught right in his bed?
Yaxiu turned his head toward Vichy, but Vichy was already looking toward the wardrobe.
"Didn't you just say you were leaving?" Yaxiu caught her hand and enunciated every single word: "Leave with Soul Reflection the exact same way you came in with it!"
"I suspect she's up to no good, looking for you this late," Vichy declared with righteous indignation. "You're useless right now. I don't feel safe leaving you in a room with her alone. I have to protect you on behalf of the Sword Princess."
"Besides, it just occurred to me that they'll find out about our transaction tomorrow anyway, and after that, they'll keep a close eye on me. Since things have come to this, wouldn't doing it just once be a huge loss?"
Yaxiu stared at her speechlessly. "Did you forget? The whole point of our transaction is giving you my soul fragments. Even if you trade with me multiple times in a short span, I already gave you all my soul fragments the first time."
Vichy blinked, then shook her head decisively. "I don't care! I'm trading with you until dawn!"
"Yaxiu? What's going on in there?" the voice outside urged.
Seeing that Vichy was determined to hide in the wardrobe, Yaxiu let out a deep sigh. He made one final, dutiful attempt to dissuade her: "Even if what lies ahead is hell, you still want to step into it?"
Vichy glanced at him, the corners of her mouth curling slightly into a sweet smile.
"If I'm going to hell with you, at least it won't be boring."
By then, the person outside had already begun unzipping the tent flap. Vichy hesitated no longer. Shaking off Yaxiu's hand, she yanked open the wardrobe door, intending to dive inside.
Yet what greeted her were six arms reaching out from within!
Even a battle-hardened, thousand-year-old demigod was scared out of her wits—suddenly having six arms reach out when you opened a wardrobe, who could handle that kind of shock!?
Her hands, feet, and mouth were seized in an instant. Vichy only felt herself tumbling into an embrace of warm, fragrant, tender flesh, as sweet, whisper-soft voices chimed in her ears:
"Wel~come~"
"Squeeze over that way a bit, there are too many people."
"There's no room!"
*Soul Lock God!*
Vichy used the Soul Lock to touch their souls, and their appearances instantly became clear and visible in her vision.
Vichy was stunned, speaking to them directly through the Soul Lock God: *Why are you all here!?*
*We foresaw that you'd break the rules tonight and violate Yaxiu, so we staked out here specifically to wait for you,* the Witch claimed without batting an eye. *Caught red-handed, aren't you!*
*Do I look like an idiot to you!?* Vichy was infuriated to the point of laughter.
The Sword Princess wearing only a jacket, the Witch in just a tube top with straps, the Silver Lantern wearing her glasses... plus the unmistakable, pheromone-laden musk lingering all over them—one whiff and Vichy knew exactly what they had just been doing!
The moment she was more than one meter away from Yaxiu, Vichy's intellect instantly reclaimed the high ground!
Weise: *Vichy, have you really never been in a relationship all these years? Yaxiu is actually your first love? No way, are you lying to him?*
Sonia: *What is this transaction you two are talking about? Why does my romantic progress with Yaxiu unlock transaction items for you?*
Diya: *Does being the master feel good?*
The operators' heated discussion came to an abrupt halt, because the person outside had already pulled back the tent flap and stepped in. Not bothering to disguise her footsteps, she walked slowly over to the bedside, sat down, and asked, "Aren't you turning on the light?"
Yaxiu glanced at the wardrobe. He distinctly heard the wardrobe door bump against Vichy's shin, and heard no latch click shut. In other words... the wardrobe was overflowing with people; the door couldn't even close.
Naturally. It was merely a wardrobe meant to store his clothes; at its maximum capacity, it couldn't possibly fit four grown women.
The instant the light was switched on, there would be nowhere to hide. They would be exposed immediately.
"Don't turn on the light," Yaxiu said. "I'm not wearing any clothes right now."
The girl in the dark was clearly taken aback. After a brief silence, she remarked, "I've woken you up so many times, yet I never noticed you had a habit of sleeping in the nude... Wait."
She sniffed carefully. "Did you spray perfume? Why is the scent in here so strong...?"
No clothes on.
A strong scent.
Felix blinked, instinctively shifting her hips a little farther away. "Yaxiu... couldn't you have been... all night long...?"
Yaxiu opened his mouth, but couldn't muster a single word in defense. He could only let out a heavy, self-abandoning sigh.
"That's right, it's exactly what you're thinking!"
Chapter 1133